Spanish 4.2. Past Tense: Preterite vs. Imperfect

There are two past tenses in Spanish that are translated as the simple past tense in English. In this lesson, we will have a short introduction about the difference between the two tenses, and we will learn their conjugation. The two tenses are: the preterite tense and the imperfect tense. Knowing which one to use is usually a challenge for Spanish learners.

Uses of Preterite vs. Imperfect

The preterite tense is used to describe:

1. Completed actions that have definite beginning and end points, usually identified by expressions such as: “ayer” (yesterday), “anoche” (last night), “la semana pasada” (last week), “en 1852” (in 1852), etc.
2. Actions that lasted a defined duration of time, usually identified by expressions such as: “por dos horas” (for two hours), “toda la noche”(all night), “tres veces” (three times), “de la una hasta las tres” (from one to three o’clock), “el otro día” (the other day), etc.

On the other hand, we use the imperfect tense to describe:

1. Habits in the past.
2. Description of people, places, and objects in the past.
3. Time and age in the past.
4. Actions that were continuously happening when another action interrupted in the past.

Conjugation

Before diving into examples, let us look at the conjugation of the imperfect and the preterite.

1. Preterite Tense

Regular verbs in the preterite are conjugated as follows:

	-ar ending hablar	-er ending comer	-ir ending vivir
yo	hablé	comí	viví
tú	hablaste	comiste	viviste
él/ella/usted	habló	comió	vivió
nosotros/-as	hablamos	comimos	vivimos
vosotros/-as	hablasteis	comisteis	vivisteis
ellos/ellas/ustedes	hablaron	comieron	vivieron

Notice that the “nosotros/-as” conjugation is the same as that of the present tense, e.g., “nosotros hablamos” can mean “we speak” or “we spoke,” depending on the context.

There are quite a few verbs that are irregular in the preterite tense. We will focus here on six important verbs and cover the rest of irregular verbs in the preterite in Level V, Lesson 1.

	ser	ir	dar	tener	estar	hacer
yo	fui	fui	di	tuve	estuve	hice
tú	fuiste	fuiste	diste	tuviste	estuviste	hiciste
él/ella/usted	fue	fue	dio	tuvo	estuvo	hizo
nosotros/-as	fuimos	fuimos	dimos	tuvimos	estuvimos	hicimos
vosotros/-as	fuisteis	fuisteis	disteis	tuvisteis	estuvisteis	hicisteis
ellos/ellas/ustedes	fueron	fueron	dieron	tuvieron	estuvieron	hicieron

Notice that the verbs “ser” and “ir” have the same conjugation in the preterite. The verbs “ser,” “ir,” and “dar” have unique patterns of conjugation in the preterite and thus must be memorized. On the other hand, there are a few other irregular verbs that are conjugated in the preterite in a manner similar to “tener,” “estar,” and “hacer.” We cover many of these irregular verbs in Level V, Lesson 1.

2. Imperfect Tense

Regular verbs in the imperfect are conjugated as follows:

	-ar ending hablar	-er ending comer	-ir ending vivir
yo	hablaba	comía	vivía
tú	hablabas	comías	vivías
él/ella/usted	hablaba	comía	vivía
nosotros/-as	hablábamos	comíamos	vivíamos
vosotros/-as	hablabais	comíais	vivíais
ellos/ellas/ustedes	hablaban	comían	vivían

There are only three verbs that are irregular in the imperfect. These verbs are:

	ser	ir	ver
yo	era	iba	veía
tú	eras	ibas	veías
él/ella/usted	era	iba	veía
nosotros/-as	éramos	íbamos	veíamos
vosotros/-as	erais	ibais	veíais
ellos/ellas/ustedes	eran	iban	veían

Examples

Let us now look at some examples and determine when to use the imperfect and when to use the preterite. It takes practice, but hopefully, these examples are a good start to illustrate the difference.

I visited my mother last night. Yo visité a mi madre anoche.	Preterite	Action with defined time in the past (last night)
I was at the gym for two hours. Estuve en el gimnasio durante dos horas.	Preterite	Action with defined time in the past (for two hours)
I talked to her the other day. Hablé con ella el otro día.	Preterite	Action with defined time in the past (the other day [1])
When I was a child, I used to live in a village. De niña vivía en un pueblo.	Imperfect	Habit in the past, indicated by “used to”
My school professor was tall. Mi profesor de la escuela era alto.	Imperfect	Description in the past
When I was 15 years old, I used to play tennis. Cuando tenía 15 años, jugaba al tenis.	Imperfect	Time and age in the past
I was at work when you called me. Estaba en el trabajo cuando me llamaste.	Imperfect	Actions continuously happening in the past when another action interrupted

Preterite or Imperfect?

In general, use the preterite if you are talking about actions with a defined time or period in the past. Look for expressions such as: yesterday, last night, last week, ago, in 1994, from … to …, two times, for three hours, the other day, etc. These expressions may not be explicitly used, but the meaning can implicitly refer to a defined time or period in the past, which necessitates the use of the preterite.

On the other hand, use the imperfect when you see phrases such as: “when I was a child,” “when I was younger,” “when I was 15 years old,” etc.

Cuando era joven, podía correr mucho.	When I was young, I could run a lot.
De niño me gustaba la fruta.	When I was a child, I used to like fruits.
Cuando era un adolescente, tomaba café.	When I was a teenager, I used to drink coffee.

Also, use the imperfect when comparing the present to the past, for example:

Hoy en día es fácil viajar, pero antes era muy difícil.

Today it is easy to travel, but before, it used to be difficult.

Past Intentions Using the Imperfect

Another important use of the imperfect tense is to express a past intention of doing something that does not end up being done in the present. These are expressions such as “I was going to …,” “I was thinking of …,” and “I wanted to ….”

The general formula of such expressions is as follows:

Imperfect tense of (“ir a,” “pensar,” or “querer”) + infinitive

For example:

Iba a llamarte, pero me dormí.	I was going to call you, but I fell asleep.
Pensaba en salir, pero ya es muy tarde.	I was thinking of going out, but it’s already too late.
Quería venir, pero tuve un accidente.	I wanted to come, but I had an accident.

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[1] Although “the other day” may seem vague and undefined, we consider it a defined time from a grammatical viewpoint.

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